First Draft of LNN finished - at last!

 

The seemingly dour (but is he?) Nathaniel Brockworth

Well, Yes, it's taken forever, but the first draft of 'Lord Nathaniel's Nemesis' is complete, and I'm happy with it. Getting to know the two lead characters has taken a while, because, it turns out, that they are a lot more complex people than those in the first two books: 'Lady Isabel's Inheritance' and 'Lady Serena's Secret'. I think that it was always inevitable that characters who do not conform to the standard male and female tropes of romantic fiction were going to be harder to write. The usual simple formula of historical romances would not be enough to explain why these two very different people, from wildly different backgrounds, would meet and fall in love. (Historical Romantic fiction tropes: strong overbearing, gorgeous male; beautiful, but tricky, aristocratic female - do not fit well in this story. Nathaniel tends to be rather self-effacing and Rebecca isn't even aristocratic!) 

Rebecca Northley - beautiful, rich heiress, but an outsider as far as High Society is concerned.
She is a commoner associated with business and trade, and is therefore only valued by many for her fortune.

I probably should have realised that this would be a tricky task long ago, when I was finding it hard to find an interesting story line which would fit the characters I wanted to portray. The classic story lines would just not work. So I eventually found myself going down pathways that had definitely not even occurred to me when I started writing this novel. But slowly and surely Rebecca and Nathaniel's story unfolded - with forays into places I knew from my University days, and very unladylike occupations for Rebecca. But at least the story held together as a plot!

Yes! A Roman mosaic and a vineyard producing English sparkling wine - how on earth do those fit into the plot? They do, I assure you!

 You know the old saying 'still waters run deep' - that is certainly true for Nathaniel, who superficially comes across as a bit bland. Not so, under his dour frowning façade, lies a passionate man, who is not quite so comfortable expressing himself on a personal level as the rest of the Brockworths, and therefore takes a little more time to get to know. However, fate intervenes and faced with the possibility of losing the love of his life, Rebecca, Nathaniel finds himself playing the unexpected and rather uncomfortable role of knight in shining armour. Despite these heroics, all still does not go well in his pursuit of his soul-mate, and drastic methods have to be contemplated by a man happier standing in the shadows, than taking overtly bold steps to avert disaster.

The magnificent frontage of Harewood House

Without giving too much away, the plot shifts around quite a lot in this novel, including London, Oxfordshire and finally to Seth Northley's (Rebecca's father) imposing mansion in Hampshire. I have unashamedly based this over-the-top Palladian pile on the wonderful Harewood House, near Harrogate Yorkshire, which we visited in September. I just loved this house - so beautifully kept and built by the nouveaux very riche of the mid-eighteenth century Lascelles family (though the Lascelles family, had been in fact, respectable gentry in the area since early medieval times. However, my story story does not relate to them other than referencing the gorgeous house).

The fabulous Gallery which appears as Chicheley Place's ballroom in 'Lord Nathaniel's Nemesis'

So now I have to sit down and start the second draft, and fill out the story to make it a riveting read. I just hope hope that is a smoother process than developing the first draft!

I'm hoping to finish the second draft by the New Year, but a publication date in 2026 is probably a realistic prediction, and I'm not even going to speculate on which month!

                           In the meantime, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Lady Serena's Secret published!

 
April 2025

Well it's been a while coming, but Lady Serena's Secret is now available as an e-book on Amazon. It was not an easy book to write as Lady Serena is basically a very nice person. And nice people are trickier to write about, as they tend not to offend or do outrageous things. In short - they can be a bit boring. So, whilst being true to the nature of one's chief protagonist, a writer has to dig a little deeper into her subject. No-one is really perfect after all - are they?

And Serena, I am glad to say, is not quite the perfect 'Diamond of the First Water' - a model of upper class beauty and perfection, that she first appears to be. No, Lady Serena has been flouting quite a few of those unspoken rules that dictate the rather restricted lifestyle of Upper Class Virgins. 

Bored with yet another London Season, Serena and her friends, Lady Millie and Lady Fliss are, instead of devoting their energies to finding suitable husbands, relieving their ennui, by helping out at a Girl's Charity School (which is acceptable), and supporting it financially by secretly producing a Lady's Periodical, 'La Dernier Cri' (which is not quite so acceptable). Their involvement in this kind of enterprise would, if it ever became known publicly, bring not only scandal to them, but also to their families. However, so far, they have eluded detection, and are quietly proud of the results of their efforts.

Serena, not content with sailing close to the wind with her publishing activities, secretly designs clothes and jewellery (though the latter she has not indulged in recently, as the danger of detection is considerably higher). However, she still provides her modiste, Madame Tiffany with the odd dress design when she feels inspired and cannot resist her muse any longer. The haute ton would be shocked and outraged if they knew that Lady Serena had designed some of the most admired dresses of the Season.

Hew d'Arras, Earl of Blencathra has returned to English shores reluctantly, due to the necessity of taking over the reins of the family Estate and businesses, and to avoid an almost certain demise from illness, if he had insisted on remaining in India. He is also looking forward to the challenge of extending the gem and jewellery business he started in India, and building up the family shipping business to be a global enterprise.

When he left England ten years previously, he had sworn never to return. However, embracing the inescapable, he looks up his sole remaining close relative, his cousin Isabel, who has recently married Theo Brockworth, Marquess of Norcombe - Serena's eldest brother. On being introduced to the Brockworth family, Hew discovers that Serena is everything he despises in females - a beautiful blue-eyed blonde, and despite his instant attraction to her physically, immediately raises all his defences. 

Far from the usual stunned admiration that she is used to receiving when introduced to any male on the right side of the grave, Serena is totally dumbfounded when Hew views her with stony disdain, bordering on outright hostility. Somewhat miffed that he appears to have taken her in instant dislike for no apparent reason, Serena delights in thwarting his efforts to put her off, when Isabel invites her to help in Hew's quest of finding a new home in London.

And so begins the on-off, up and down relationship between Serena and Hew. As Serena goes about her life helping friends and acquaintances whenever she can, Hew starts to realise that there may be more to Lady Serena than first appearances might suggest. Indeed, far from the ambitious, avaricious and manipulative heartless siren he expected, he has to admit that she is warm, generous, talented and soft-hearted, amongst countless other virtues. Likewise, Serena starts to realise that far from being the stony-faced, one dimensional businessman that he likes to portray himself as, Hew is a closet Romantic with an artistic side that he keeps very carefully concealed. 

Running the gauntlet of scandal, intrigue, fortune hunters and the malicious harpies of the ton, enjoy the trials and tribulations of love within the Ruling Class during the 1820's with Hew and Serena, in

Lady Serena's Secret

now available as a e-book at Amazon, here.